


i'll apologise for everything later

by lumchables



Series: Pizza and Cock [3]
Category: Anteros (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gay Bar, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Oasis Discourse, One Night Stands, based on real manchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 16:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11558670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumchables/pseuds/lumchables
Summary: Jackson and Laura go to a gay bar and everything goes a bit wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [champagne clink emoji]  
> Title from Bad Decisions by Two Door Cinema Club (which makes a change from the 50 cent and katy perry)

* * *

"What do you guys wanna do now?" Jackson asked. They'd just finished their second show in Manchester, on tour with Two Door Cinema Club. It had been a wild tour already; their biggest tour yet, and they were still trying to adjust to life on the road.

"I think I just want to sleep." Joshua yawned, emphasising his point. Part of Jackson's heart sank. He'd hoped Joshua would come with him where he'd planned to go. He'd started enjoying spending time with Joshua more than he should in the past few months, since they'd agreed to be friends with benefits while on tour. The arrangement worked for the most part - there'd been a few close calls, such as Alex Trimble almost walking in on them fucking backstage, but they were happy with it.

"Yeah, me too." Harry nodded in agreement.

"You guys are all boring. It's a Saturday night in Manchester, there's loads to do!" Jackson turned to Laura. "Laura, you'll come with me, won't you?"

"Where do you wanna go?"

"I don't know, a bar somewhere in the city centre." Now Joshua wasn't coming, Jackson was far less willing to admit he was going to a gay bar. It felt weirdly like cheating in a way, even though they weren't dating. He tried to put the thoughts out of his mind, snapping back to reality when Laura spoke.

"Sure, I'll come. Sounds like fun."

"I'll go get my jacket."

Half an hour later they were in the city centre, stood outside a gay bar complete with  
flashing rainbow sign.  
"Was this where you planned to go?" Laura asked, biting her lip. She hesitated for a second. Joshua had told her about his feelings for Jackson, and she didn't want to have to tell him he'd gone off with someone else and she couldn't stop him. On the other hand, it was Jackson's choice, and it wasn't her place to interfere with whatever it was he and Joshua had.

"Yeah," the boy mumbled. He felt another brief pang of guilt as he remembered Joshua, then shook himself. These thoughts needed to stop. They weren't dating, and Jackson could do whatever he wanted. It wasn't Joshua's business who he slept with.

As soon as they entered, they were assaulted by the sounds of bass-boosted Kesha blaring through the speakers. Jackson grimaced at Laura, senses adjusting to the loud music and purple lighting.

"I'll go get us drinks," Laura half-yelled over the music, struggling to hear herself think. "You go find somewhere to sit."

Jackson nodded, heading off towards the back in an attempt to find somewhere quieter to sit. He couldn't see himself finding anyone he'd be interested in here. It wasn't the kind of environment he'd usually find himself in, but here he was and he was going to try and make the most of it.

Laura returned with the drinks; a beer for Jackson, and some complicated-looking cocktail with an umbrella in it for herself. "You okay? You look slightly moodier than usual somehow."

"Nah, I'm fine, I'm just... wondering why I came here."

"I didn't think this was really your scene either, if I'm honest. Are there any gay bars for moody-looking indie men?"

"Fuck off. Anyway, if I'm here I might as well try and have some fun." Jackson sipped his beer. He didn't need Joshua. There were plenty of guys here he could have a good time with. Plucking up the courage to actually talk to anyone was another matter, but he could work on that after he finished his beer. He sat there for half an hour lost in his own thoughts. At some point he was vaguely aware of Laura disappearing. Great. Now he just looked like a loser, sat alone in the corner of a gay bar. This was a terrible idea.

"Hey."

Jackson looked up to see a young man, about the same age as him, wearing a Mystery Jets t-shirt and faded skinny jeans. His golden brown hair had the kind of messy look that takes forever to perfect, and he kept running a hand through it to keep it up.

"Hi," Jackson grinned. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all - this guy was cute, and had come up to him, and judging by his shirt, had a good music taste. "You don't seem like the kind of guy i'd expect to see here."

"If that was your pickup line, that was terrible," the other boy grinned. "But yeah, I know what you mean. My friends dragged me here in the hopes that I'd finally meet someone."

"I dragged my friend here so I wouldn't look like a massive loser, but I'm not even sure where she is any more, so that didn't work out. I'm Jackson."

"Jake. Can I buy you a drink?"

Jackson had been wrong earlier, he thought to himself - this was going to be a great night. "Sure."

40 minutes later, and Jackson was drunkenly trying to convince Jake that Oasis were the best band in the world, waving his arms around in an attempt to prove his point and almost falling off his stool. Jake had put his arm out to steady Jackson and was trying not to burst out laughing as the blonde got more and more worked up.

"But Wonderwall is iconic! Everyone knows Wonderwall!"

"Doesn't mean it's good though," Jake pointed out, trying to keep a straight face. "Communism was popular too, and look how that turned out." He giggled at his own joke. He wasn't as drunk as Jackson, but found himself laughing more than usual, and the blonde found him adorable.

"Shh. Listen," Jackson slurred, putting a finger to Jake's lips in an attempt to silence him and almost falling off his stool again, "You may not like their music, but you can't deny Liam Gallagher's Twitter is a work of art."

"Liam Gallagher's Twitter is what would happen if you gave my grandpa a Twitter account, only less racist."

"But it's _Liam_! It's wonderful!"

Jake paused for a second as if considering something. "You're hot, but you fangirl over Oasis."

"You're hot, but you hate Oasis." Jackson retorted.

Suddenly, Jake leaned in and kissed Jackson, one hand cupping the blonde's cheek and the other steadying himself against the stool. Jackson responded quickly, wrapping his arms around Jake's neck and kissing back messily. He could forgive someone for hating Oasis if they were this good a kisser, he thought. He pulled Jake closer, hands finding their way into his soft brown hair, tongue sliding into his mouth.

After making out sloppily for what felt like forever, Jake pulled away. "Fuck. Do you want to, uh, come back to my house?"

Jackson blinked, returning to the real world. He was too drunk to think this was anything other than a good idea - he'd come here to have fun, right? Jake was cute, and nice, even if he did hate Oasis, and Laura was nowhere to be seen. This was a great idea.

"Hell yeah." He climbed down from his stool, stumbling before Jake wrapped an arm round his waist, Jackson's arm hanging loosely around his neck. They wandered out of the bar into the cold cobbled street, Jackson trying to kiss Jake's neck as they headed in the direction of the bus stop. He'd been wrong earlier. This night had turned out far better than expected.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the night before.

Jackson woke up the next day with a hangover and a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was in someone else's bed, and that someone else had his arms wrapped around him, snoring softly. He dimly remembered the night before. He'd gone out with Laura, and then this guy had started talking to him, and then they'd started making out, and now here he was in his bed... oh God.

He'd made a terrible mistake. How was he going to explain this to the others? He rolled over, trying not to wake the boy next to him, grabbing his phone from the table and groaning internally when he saw the series of messages and missed calls from Laura. The last one had been sent just after 3:30am and read simply "Josh has fallen asleep finally. See you tomorrow.".

Joshua. He'd done this in the hopes he'd be able to forget him, yet this hurt more than anything. He could never tell him about this, and hoped that Laura hadn't told him where they went. He hated himself for this stupid mistake - what if he'd messed things up with Joshua? There was no point any more trying to ignore his feelings for the man. He didn't think things could get any more complicated.

This was no time for self pity. He slowly extracted himself from the arms of the snoring boy (he was pretty sure his name was Jake) and got dressed, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door. He hesitated for a second, grabbing a pen from Jake's desk and writing on the back of a tissue:

_Sorry I left before you woke up. You helped me figure out some things, so thanks, I guess._

_Jackson_

Manchester was cold yet blindingly sunny, and he squinted as he turned the corner in the hopes of finding the bus stop he'd been at yesterday, going back to Jake's house. Once on the bus, he texted Laura ("coming back now. i'm sorry - don't tell J?"), then sat back and contemplated how much of a mess this situation was.

He was in love with Joshua. He'd felt like this for months, yet it had taken fucking some other guy for him to realise that, and if Joshua found out there'd be no chance of them ever being anything more than friends with benefits. Tears began forming in his eyes. Joshua had been awake worrying about him. He'd been awake worrying about Jackson while Jackson was with someone else, and he felt terrible.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. A text from Laura - "I won't, but only for his sake". Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. Joshua wasn't going to find out about this, not from Laura at least. He sighed and got off the bus - it was better he faced them sooner rather than later. It was 9am; only 12 hours since he'd last seen Joshua, but so much had happened it felt like weeks. The hotel wasn't far from the bus stop, and as he approached it he made a mental list of all the things that could happen when he returned.

Laura would shout at him, of course; she was Joshua's best friend and wouldn't want to see him hurt. Harry would say something - probably question where he'd been. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer that. And Joshua... Jackson had no idea what Joshua was going to do, but he was going to find out soon. He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to make himself more presentable, took a deep breath and headed into the hotel.


End file.
